Savvy STR Agents  |  Market Overview and Buy Box

The Jersey Shore: Northeast Coastal, Four Counties

Established Vacation Market, $400,000 to $4,000,000+
Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May Counties, New Jersey

Territory Expert: Cody Zucker, CPA, Savvy STR Realty. Owns and operates seven short-term rentals on this coast. Deep local contractor, cleaner and inspector network.

Target purchase price by sub-market

Cape May County$400,000 to $1,200,000
Ocean County, Long Beach Island$1,500,000 to $4,000,000
Ocean County, Seaside and mainland$400,000 to $1,200,000
Atlantic County, Downbeach$400,000 to $1,500,000
Monmouth County$850,000 to $2,500,000
Purchase bands from closed sales in the trailing 90 days (Zillow, Homes.com, Movoto), August 2026.
Short-term rentals19,361
Annual visitor spending$25B
People within a drive26.2M
Visitor household income$128,842

A century-old coast the STR wave skipped

The Jersey Shore is a mature vacation coast serving the largest concentration of high earners in the country. Four counties, 59 shore municipalities, 19,361 short-term rentals, and roughly $25 billion in combined annual visitor spending. 26.2 million people live in the New York and Philadelphia metro areas, both within a drive.

What makes it investable right now: the last decade of national STR capital went to Florida, the Smokies, the Poconos and the Outer Banks, and this coast never got that wave. Most towns have only a handful of genuinely great properties, so a buyer who does the work stands out fast. New construction keeps running into tighter short-term rental restrictions, and most of these towns are already built out, which protects the value of housing stock that is already permitted and operating.

There is also the peace-of-mind piece. Most of these buyers can reach the property in an hour or two by car, no plane ride. They can see it, use it and stay close to it, so owning a real asset never feels disconnected. For a first or second short-term rental, that comfort matters.

This is a total-return market. At today's rates these deals sit near breakeven on cash in year one. The return comes from the first-year cost segregation benefit, principal paydown and appreciation, with family weeks in July as the part no spreadsheet captures. The average New Jersey overnight visitor household earns $128,842.

Rental count and revenue data: PriceLabs listing-level data, 19,361 rentals across 59 shore municipalities, pulled 4 August 2026. Visitor spending: NJ Division of Travel and Tourism, 2024 county figures. Visitor income: NJ Overnight Leisure Visitor Profile.

Four counties, four different buyers

CountyTarget property characterGuest demographicLocation advantageVisitor spend
Cape MayCondos and duplexes, Victorian singles in Cape May City, beach-block towers in the WildwoodsMulti-generational families, 85% repeat visitors, two thirds have come 10+ yearsThe deepest vacation market in the state, highest spend per visitor in New Jersey at $669$8.1B
AtlanticDownbeach single-family, condo towers in Brigantine and VentnorPhiladelphia families, slower pace, value-consciousBest entry prices on the coast, free or nearly free beaches, friendliest rental rules$8.2B
OceanLarge-format LBI homes, boardwalk-adjacent value stock at SeasideClassic family beach weeks on LBI, younger and higher-turnover at SeasideWidest range of guest types in one county, highest large-home ceiling$5.8B
MonmouthWalkable-downtown singles, Victorian tents and cottages in Ocean GroveLive music and food scene, weekend-driven, closest to New YorkStrongest year-round market. Major capital moving in, including the Netflix studio at Fort Monmouth$3.1B
Visitor spend and per-visitor figures: NJ Division of Travel and Tourism, 2024 county figures.

Pick the box before you pick the house

Every deal fits one of four boxes. The box decides the towns, the underwriting, and the exit. Revenue figures are annual.

Buy Box One

The Condo Entry

Wildwood Crest, Wildwood, North Wildwood, Ventnor, Brigantine, Ocean City
Purchase$400,000 to $750,000
Typical revenue$26,000 to $44,000
Well run$35,000 to $57,000

The thesis

At the same bedroom count, condos earn close to what houses earn. The gap most investors assume exists is really a bedroom-count difference. A beach-block two bedroom holds its revenue for far less money than an inland house.

Watch out for

The HOA, always. Some buildings quietly prohibit or cap nightly rentals. Get the bylaws and the rental history before anyone gets attached. Check the reserve study on older oceanfront buildings.

Buy Box Two

The Family House

Brigantine, Ocean City, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Manasquan, Beach Haven, Surf City
Purchase$850,000 to $1,500,000
Typical revenue$75,000 to $125,000
Well run$125,000 to $200,000

The thesis

The workhorse. Three to four bedrooms within six blocks of the beach. Enough size to carry a real nightly rate, small enough to stay financeable, deepest comp pool on the coast, and the easiest box to build a genuinely great property in because most of the competition is undermanaged.

Watch out for

Parking and outdoor space. Neither adds much revenue directly but you cannot compete without them, and a house missing either will underperform its comps regardless of how nice the interior is.

Buy Box Three, The Featured Box

The Big Box

Long Beach Township, Brigantine, Cape May City, Avalon, Ocean City
Purchase$1,500,000 to $4,000,000+
Typical revenue$85,000 to $131,000
Well run$150,000 to $300,000+

The thesis

Revenue climbs steeply with bed count and does not flatten. A typical six-plus bedroom does about $95,000, one in four clears $150,000, and the best property on this coast did upper six figures. Fewer than 200 exist in this size range on the entire Jersey Shore, which is exactly why a well-executed one dominates its market.

Watch out for

Concentration. One soft August is the whole year. Largest carrying cost, thinnest comp set, so the underwriting has to be tighter, not looser.

Buy Box Four

The Value-Add

Lower Township and the Villas, Seaside Heights, Wildwood, North Wildwood, Ventnor
Purchase$400,000 to $1,000,000+
Renovation$75,000 to $175,000
Post-renovation revenue$88,000 to $131,000

The thesis

The one box where a buyer manufactures equity instead of paying for it. The Villas and Lower Township are the best territory for it: entry in the low $400s, rentals that stay open roughly 300 nights a year, and a stock of tired homes minutes from the beach. Renovation dollars also enlarge the cost segregation basis, so the tax benefit scales with the work.

Watch out for

Scope creep and timeline. A renovation that misses Memorial Day has lost a year on this coast. Contractor locked before closing, not after.

Revenue figures: PriceLabs listing-level comps and Savvy underwriting for purpose-bought properties, August 2026. Purchase bands: closed sales, trailing 90 days (Zillow, Homes.com, Movoto).

What the property must have, and what pays

What it needs to have
What actually adds revenue, per year

Measured within the same town and bedroom count, minimum five properties on each side of the comparison.

Hot tub+$17,834
Pool+$10,497
Beachfront+$9,440
Waterfront+$9,093
Guest Favorite+$7,895
Balcony+$3,678
Parking+$1,028

Ultimately it is the accumulation of these, along with a solid market strategy, that creates winners. Not one-off amenities.

Amenity comparisons matched within town and bedroom count, Airbnb listings only, PriceLabs listing-level data pulled 4 August 2026. Observational, not causal. Read as association.

Revenue climbs with beds and does not flatten

Average across the priority towns, trailing twelve months, 7,052 rentals. Read these as the floor, not the ceiling: the averages include a lot of part-time owners who close the calendar most of the year. Among 6+ bedroom homes, one in four clears $150,000.

Studio$18,548
1 BR$21,199
2 BR$25,993
3 BR$32,747
4 BR$48,892
5 BR$65,560
6+ BR$94,988

Per available night, that runs $83 for a studio up to $337 at 6+ bedrooms. July and August together carry 42.9% of annual revenue; hot tubs and heated pools are how a calendar stretches past summer, and a handful of towns hold real year-round demand.

PriceLabs listing-level data, trailing twelve months across the priority towns, 7,052 rentals, pulled 4 August 2026. Monthly revenue shares from the same dataset.

Where the deals actually are

Eight towns lead the map. Which one fits a buyer is usually a feel decision, so here is the feel.

Cape May City

Cape May

America's oldest seaside resort and a National Historic Landmark district: gaslit streets, painted Victorians, carriage tours and white-tablecloth dinners. Quiet money, a real off-season, guests who dress for dinner.

Lower Twp / Villas

Cape May

The bayside neighbor everyone overlooks. Calm Delaware Bay beaches, cottages from the fifties turning over one by one, and the best sunsets in the county. Unpretentious, year-round, wide open.

Ocean City

Cape May

America's Greatest Family Resort, founded dry in 1879 and still dry. A two-and-a-half mile boardwalk, wide guarded beaches, and families on their fortieth consecutive summer.

Long Beach Twp

Ocean

The quiet stretches of Long Beach Island, Brant Beach down through Holgate: dune-backed beaches, cedar-shake compounds, sailing camps and paddleboards. Where the island's biggest houses sit.

Beach Haven

Ocean

LBI's social heart. A Victorian downtown, the ferris wheel at Fantasy Island on the bay, mini golf and ice cream lines, and the island's only walk-to-dinner-and-drinks nightlife.

Brigantine

Atlantic

A locals' island one bridge from Atlantic City that never got built up. Uncrowded beaches, back-bay boating, fishermen at the north-end cove. The last true value on a Jersey barrier island.

Belmar

Monmouth

The classic Shore boardwalk town, an hour and change from Manhattan. Surf beaches, a working marina, bands on the deck all summer, and a town that goes quiet and local after Labor Day.

Ocean Grove

Monmouth

God's Square Mile: a Victorian seaside town founded as a Methodist camp meeting in 1869, tent cottages and porch culture right beside Asbury Park. The land under every home is leased from the Camp Meeting Association, so a purchase is nearly all structure, which can mean a larger depreciable base. A market we own and operate in ourselves.

The research behind this guide covers all 59 shore municipalities, the Wildwoods, Sea Isle, Surf City, Seaside Heights, Ventnor, Manasquan and the rest. Ask about any of them.

The rules decide the deal before the house does

Every property must pass three tests

Short-term rental friendly

Ocean City, Sea Isle, the Wildwoods, Lower Township, Ship Bottom, Surf City, Beach Haven, Brigantine, Ventnor, Seaside Heights, Belmar.

Licenses run from $8 per sleeping room to a few hundred dollars a year.

Watch the rules

Point Pleasant Borough, Point Pleasant Beach, Egg Harbor Township, Longport, Somers Point, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars.

Minimum stays, owner-occupancy requirements or caps on stays make these towns a poor fit for the strategy.

The tax stack on guest stays

6.625% New Jersey sales tax plus the 5.0% state occupancy fee equals 11.625%. Some towns add up to 3% more, so model 14.625% where it applies. Brigantine is the only municipality in New Jersey at a different rate, 1.25%.

The honest read

The rules are the hardest part of this coast. They differ drastically from town to town, they change, and they are not always posted clearly. One ordinance can reshape what a property is allowed to earn. This is exactly where investors need help navigating, and it is a big part of what a territory expert is for. The screen comes before the showing.

Rental rules verified against published ordinance text, July and August 2026. Confirm current rules with the municipal clerk before any transaction.

One house. Five returns.

Shore property is not a cap-rate purchase, and underwriting it that way misses most of the value. A well-selected property earns in five distinct ways. How they get weighted is the buyer's call.

i.

Appreciation

Core Shore towns are up 100-139% over ten years, and NJ ranked first among all states for annual price growth in early 2026. No new land is coming.

ii.

Depreciation

High-basis assets ($1M-$3M+) plus cost segregation plus permanent 100% bonus depreciation can produce large year-one deductions against W-2 income for qualifying owners.

iii.

Principal Paydown

Guests amortize the note. Roughly 6% of the loan retires in the first five years at current rates. Slow, quiet, compounding.

iv.

Rental Income

Blended market ADRs run $460-$860 across the target towns. Purpose-bought homes book above the blend, with water-view product at $2,000+ per night in season and premium weeks well into five figures.

v.

Personal Use

The return most models leave out: your own weeks in season, kept inside the 14-day/10% line if you are running the depreciation strategy.

The whole strategy is building super properties that beat their comp set. Market averages are the floor, not the forecast. A well-executed property can do more, and some do a lot more.

On the depreciation column: it requires income to shelter, material participation, and personal use inside the 14-day or 10% line. The buyer's CPA has to bless it. Bonus depreciation modeled at 100%; confirm the current percentage. Detailed pro formas are run deal by deal, not in a market guide.

Appreciation and price-growth figures from public sale records and state rankings, early 2026. ADR ranges: PriceLabs listing-level data, pulled 4 August 2026.
Your Territory Expert

Cody Zucker, CPA

Savvy STR Realty, Jersey Shore
Cody Zucker, CPA, Savvy STR Realty

I am committed to serving my clients the same way I serve my guests. Five stars.